welcome 2013

around this time last year i wrote this post about what 2012 was going to be for me. so, let’s see how i went with my resolutions:

quality not quantity / more time with my kids / more things for me: WHAT A FAT LOAD OF CRAP. last year was easily my busiest and most insane year ever, mostly thanks to my book. then once my book was finished, raph was in the midst of building 2 new (quite expensive) trucks, and we realised that actually we were a bit poor and i had to do a bucket load of freelance to get us through. my ‘kid time’ remained the same, but i barely had time to sleep, let alone “time for me”. kids seemed to have survived relatively unscathed and happy though. and i will have time for me one day (maybe in my 70′s? or 80′s?).

get my license: EPIC FAIL. no i did not. not even close. in fact, i think my driving skills and confidence went backwards. i have a bunch of awesome and well-rehearsed excuses if you want to hear them. that’s the last time i think a public declaration will motivate me into something i am actually petrified to do.

becoming a domestic goddess: FAIL. our house is as chaotic and messy as it ever was. probably even worse.

how do i feel about all that? fine actually. yes 2012 was pure insanity, but it was also the most rewarding and exciting and amazing year to date. bring on more of that kind of insanity i say.

as for 2013 – do i dare make some more public resolutions? yes, i shall. i already know it’s going to be another insane year (on the list so far: 4 exhibitions – one solo; 2 more books), so i’m going to try and make them more reasonable:

1. waste less food - we cook everyday. we grocery shop almost everyday too (locally and organic whenever possible), but are guilty of throwing out quite a bit of food. we compost a lot of it, but it would be better if it was used instead of composted – wasted food is also a waste of water and resources, and that shit is not cool. it also feel outrageous throwing wilted carrots away when a lot of the world does not have enough to eat. so this year i’m going to enforce a bit of menu planning and making meals out of what we have in the garden, fridge and the pantry, instead of shopping all the time. we will see how it goes. (check out the foodwise site for more info on food waste in australian households. facts are quite scary. you can do your bit too!).

2. take better photos – you may have noticed – i have become quite lazy with my photos. i dont even get out my little auto camera any more – it’s pretty much all iphone snaps. i want to break this habit. although i definitely dont want to be a professional photographer, i do think after all these years i should be able to use proper camera, and know how to take proper photos. i’m also thinking of investing in a new camera – something in between a automatic and an SLR – recommendations welcome.

3. be less stressed – i’m all for being busy, but being busy and stressed is another story. i have been known to get myself into quite a state, and it can effect everyone around me. i’m on a mission to remind myself that if i don’t meet that deadline the world won’t end (and that i have pretty much never not met a deadline). and also it comes back to that “no” word – i’m going to try that out again. and maybe throw in a bit of meditation for good measure too.

4. getting out there – i am quite bad at making it to events: exhibitions, movies, lunch dates etc. i mean the intention is there, i’ve just been time poor. and unlike some other kids, cafes and exhibition openings are a form of torture for tyke and ari, so bringing them with me has not been an option either. i’m not making any outlandish claims that this year i will be magically plucking more time out of the air, but with ari at school i’m hoping i might have a bit more opportunity to see the things and the people i want too. quite possibly this time will also be occupied with a lot of work. like i said – no outlandish claims.

5. teach my kids to be more self-sufficient - sometimes i feel like my kids are heading into the over-privileged category. they get to go on overseas holidays, they get almost everything they ask for (within reason), they have exceptionally cool parents (ahem). of course – i want them to give them as much as i can, but i don’t want them to end up being spoilt brats who can’t fend for themselves. my mum was a working mum so from high school age my sister and i were washing our own clothes, cooking dinner and packing our own school lunches. i vaguely remember feeling a bit annoyed by these tasks, but also empowered, and it taught me a lot.

that’s it for 2013. i don’t think the above will be too hard to manage. in fact if i do follow them, they could aid our busy-ness. here’s hoping anyway.

This entry was posted
on Thursday, January 10th, 2013 at 5:06 pm and is filed under General.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.

27 Responses to “welcome 2013”

i love looking back on posts, especially ones around new years time and see whats what! this year i didnt really set myself any resolutions as i always seem to fail miserably…one year i thought i would trick myself with an easy win, to eat a custard apple. of course i totally forgot about it but my flat mate remembered it the following january….epic fail complete with shame spiral over not being able to complete even the most easiest resolutions!! this year stress less is on my list too…lets see how that pans out! happy new year!

Love this post, Beci! High fives for resolution fails. I copy and paste my resolutions from year to year but i’m ok with that. All the best with your 2013 projects, Find & Keep is one of my favourite crafty books, and i own about eleventy million crafty books just to put that in perspective. Keep up the awesomeness!

I am yet to flesh my resolutions out so they don’t look as well considered as yours, but basically consist of spending more time on things that will mean something in years to come. And if you need a camera buddy, I am making sure I take my real camera out more too! X

Hi Beci, I totally relate with what you write, that is why this year I did not write resolutions. I will simply continue the trend of last year, 3 basic things remain good for me: more cinema and art, less clutter at home, start an online shop. I also would like to keep it simple, but there is one thing i will do: write on a piece of paper each nice thing that happens to me/my family and put it in a jar. i will open it and read all the papers next 31 december and I am sure this will help to see the good side of life!
Happy New year ti you all! Wish you another year of very good stuff and great work, but also nice time with kids and partner. don’t ee all need that???

Hi Beci,
My husband and I made the be solution to make sure to ring or send people a card for their birthday- we often let these little milestone slip past for the people in our extended family without acknowledging them so this year is the year of making an effort (especially since we would also like people to remember Frankie’s birthday).
As for the camera recommendations; I love my Olympus PEN E-P3 four thirds camera. This was the compromise camera because while I would love an SLR the husband hates looking like a tourist with a big bulky camera. It takes great auto photos but you can also switch to manual and have a near SLR experience. I have been teaching myself a lot trying to take a photo a day of the baby to put up for interstate grandparents.

Good luck with the driving- moving to a quiet country town helped me get mine since I didn’t have to brave Carlton to take the test!

Oh finally someone being honest about mess and over-privileged kids and food waste and stress. We have been chasing our tails with both parents working these holidays, kids are watching a shed-load of TV and I feel guilty about almost everything. Blech!

You should come for a date at our place, we can enthuse over the mess while the kids jump on the trampoline

I must say that I enjoy using my Lumix G2, although it’s more an SLR, but def has a lean towards being a compact SLR. I think the quality is very good and even as an SLR it’s very easy to use and I have not been disappointed with the photos. The touch screen focus can be a big help, but manual focus is there if you need it.
The Lumix GF3 is pretty cheap now and I have been tempted (about 500 with a lens), but I barely use digital anymore! There are a lot of style variations in that range and you have the option of buying a new lens if you want to go on holiday or to the zoo etc.

I’m totally with you on wasting less food & using my camera more. I achieved 7/52 of last years resolutions.. epic fail, ha ha! I’m not upset about it though, it made me question whether or not they really were goals or whether they were cool things everybody else was doing. Some of them are back on this years mental list

In terms of the food wastage, menu planning really does help. We used to shop nearly every day, and it does lead to wasted food, time and money. Now, once a week, we sit down together and look through recipe books. We make a week plan for dinners, and then only buy what is on the list, plus fruit and sandwich ingredients for lunches. Anyway, it works for us!

Hey Bec, happy new year! Yep my year is already mental, no summer holiday, bah! You should check out my friend’s food blog, http://oneequalstwo.wordpress.com/. It’s all about creating two meals out of one. She’s a busy graphic designer mum with two boys. I think you will like.

Um, did you say TWO more books?!! Yowsers! You are ace and you have done amazing, amazing things – perhaps the price for that is a messy lounge room? Though I really do hope you get to sleep some time soon! Here’s to a fabulous 2013, can’t wait to see what it brings. xox

Also YES to kids being self sufficient. I’m going to try and do more of that this year too…I’ve been trying to do it while the boys are with us at the moment and generally failing miserably, but they have been making their own lunch every day so that’s a start at least right?

Hello! I would recommend the Olympus Pen series – except I’m not sure which ones have inbuilt flash now.. maybe none, not that I ever use mine. Maybe the Epl 3. These are more preferable over the panasonic micro 4/3 series as the controls are more manual.

However, the Panasonic lx7 is the awesome new release (and it’s almost identical to the leica that comes out on or around the same time). the leica will give just a tad better colouring but the lx7 is a great . The lx5 was a gr8 camera (my bestfriends own them), and I have the leica dlux 3 (still going strong). Time and time again it’s my best go to camera because the quality is as great and it does the wide lens, macro and zoom all in one go without having to lug around lenses. You can treat it like a manual slr too. I was once a guest of panasonic at a photography trade show and the pro and the team pretty much all said the lx5 was hard to beat and they all had one…

This is a great post. I love how honest you are! I didn’t get my licence in 2012 either!!! it is top of my list this year. That and ACCEPTING the mess in my house (generated by my little ones) rather than constantly fighting it…

Happy NY Beci! Don’t beat yourself up about NY’s resolutions and getting your licence, these things happen when they’re meant to. You are a modern day marvel juggling more than most. Regarding cameras I’ve been lusting over the Pentax K-01 for ages, watching it slowing drop in price… waiting to POUNCE! I reckon you’d like it. I love my other Pentax, they are the underdog of the camera world and they pack a punch.

Beck, I saw your book in a store on Domain Road recently and loved your projects, they is something in there for all skill levels. While I love to romanticize that I will do lots of craft, the truth is all I can manage is my crochet, card making and the best of all Christmas decorations. I have started making this years as the number I make has now risen to 30 to bring a smile to family and friends each year. Good luck with your endeavors this year both on the resolution front and with your creativeness.

Hey Beci, I didn’t get my license until I was 35. Me too, totally petrified of driving and my dad is a taxi driver! But I was forced to get my license because we moved to the snowy mountains, had a child and I needed to get in to town. So I stayed at my mom’s place in Sydney for a week and had lessons for six consecutive days on the seventh got my license! I had a few tears of joy when they called me to the counter and said I had passed:) I think this is a good way to do it because if you have lessons weekly like I had in the pass you forget and loose your nerve by the next lesson:) You can do it!

Hey Beci, I didn’t get my license until I was 35. Me too, totally petrified of driving and my dad is a taxi driver! But I was forced to get my license because we moved to the snowy mountains, had a child and I needed to get in to town. So I stayed at my mom’s place in Sydney for a week and had lessons for six consecutive days on the seventh day got my license! I shed a few tears of joy when they called me to the counter and said I had passed:) I think this is a good way to do it because if you have lessons weekly like I had in the past you forget and loose your nerve by the next lesson:) You can do it!

really enjoyed reading this post, and good luck with this year’s resolutions! I will also be trying to waste less food…
on the camera front, I would highly recommend the panasonic lumix micro four thirds range, with a pancake lens. they are amazingly compact definitely hold up against the mid range canon slrs.
anyway, happy 2013!
claire.

Hi Beci,
I use an SLR (Nikon D300) but recently wanted a more compact point and shoot digital camera that still took great pics. I’m a research queen so spent a lot of time looking into it and speaking with my photographer friends and I made a great discovery. Sony have just released a beautiful point and shoot called the RX100 that has the photography world buzzing. It’s supposed to be the best point and shoot camera of its size to hit the market (even rivaling the Leica point and shoot). I treated myself to one and am very very happy indeed.
Lara

Hi Beci, I pricked up my ears when I heard about the driving – I agree this is the year for getting a licence! I’m 40 this year and somehow this is the deadline for me.. 2 kids and living in Canberra (car city) shoulda got driving, but I’m very adaptable it seems (and not too brave)..I can imagine its a bit easier not needing to drive in Melbourne? Best of luck. I agree with the above comment, that every day driving could be the answer? Best of luck (to us both)! Cass